Rocking toy



1950 w. BOWKER 2,518,747

ROCKING TOY Filed Nov. 7, 1947 j Walter Baw/rer -..INVENTOR.

wM zSM Patented Aug. 1 5, 1 95 ROCKING my Walter Bowker, Fall River, M ss;- assignor of one-third to Alma Knowles, Fall River, Mass.

- Application November *1, 1947, serial No. 784.749

. This. invention relates to new and useful improvements in rocking toys and the primary ob- J'ect of'the' present invention is to provide a rocking toy simulating a horse and so. designed as to propel forwardly or rearwardly upon a rocking movement to the same by the rider thereon.

' Another important objectof the'present inven tion is to provide a rocking toy including'a plurality of supporting legs and novel and improved means for securing saidlegs on the device for normally retaining said legs in a forward positionf- A further object of the present invention is to provide a rocking toy embodying novel and improved means whereby a rider may support both his. feet'and hands in a safe position duringthe rocking movement of the device. I

A' still further aim of the present invention is to provide a rocking horse that is simple and practical in construction, strong reliable in use, neat and attractive'in appearance, relatively inexpensive to manufacture, and otherwise well adapted for the purposes for which the same is intended. v I 1 Other objects and advantages reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the rocking toy constructed in accordance with present invention;

Figure 2 is an end view of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of the rear portion of the present rocking toy showing the manner in which the rear legs are normally retained in a forward position;

Figure 4 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view taken substantially through the center of Figure l; and,

Figure 5 is a diagrammatic view illustrating various positions of the legs during rocking movement of the present toy.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, wherein for the purpose of illustration, there is disclosed a preferred embodiment of the present rocking toy, the numeral It represents a substantially rectangular seat frame on which there is removably secured an anchor plate l2 provided with an upstanding central portion I 4 having a plurality of vertically spaced sleeves H5 that are interdigitated and pivoted to further spaced sleeves I8 carried by the rear arcuate edge of a head element 22 that simulates the head of a beast of This head element 22 is securedto a forward seat portion 24 by the use of angle. brackets 26, that are fixedly secured to sleeve 18.. Rigidlysecured in a suitable aperture provided in the head element 22 is a hand grippingbarza the ends of which project outwardly from. opposite sides of the head. element. "[I-Iing,edly mounted onthe lower faces of the seat portion it and the forward seat portion 24, is a rear .cross board or flap 30 and a forward crosslboard Orfiap'32. The side edges of these crossflaps are turned inwardly to provide attaching. flange 36 that are removably secured to the oppo sing faces of a pair of forward legs 36, andaipair of rear legs 38. The legs 36 and 38 diverge at their lower 'extremities and terminate in 'arcuaterockers or feet 40 and i! having strips ofsuitabl'e cushioning material 42 secured totheir arcuate bearing edges 44. The forward legs se are connected-by a cross bar 46, the ends 38 of which prol'ectoutwarclly from-said forward legs to provide feet receiving portions. Theupper porticn'sof the forward legs and rear legs are provided with upper flat forward bearing surfaces or edges as and vertically inclined upper rear bearing surfaces or edges 52.

Spring 5 5 and 56 are provided adjacent each of the flaps 33 and 32, and the terminals 58 and 69 of these springs are respectively rigidly secured to the seat frame It and seat portion 24, and the flaps 3t and 32, to retain the flaps in a forward pivotal position and with the forward bearing portions 58 frictionally engaging the lower faces of portions Hi and 24.

In practical use of the toy, when a child pushes his weight forward, as shown in Figure 5 by the numeral 62, the legs 3 5 and 38 will pivot forwardly so that the bearing surfaces 52 frictionally bear against the lower faces of the portions it and 2 5. By retaining his weight forwardly on the seat It, the device may be rocked on the forward legs with the spring at returning the rear legs to their normal position, as indicated by the numeral (id in Figure 5. The device may then be rocked rearwardly, on the rear legs, so that the forward legs will return to their normal position as indicated by the numeral 66, so that the process may be repeated.

It should be noted that during the above operation, the device will move forward and may be guided by the hand grips and feet receiving portions so that the same will simulate the movement of a horse, enjoyable and entertaining to children of all ages.

In view of the foregoing description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings it is believed that a clear understanding of the device will be quite apparent to those skilled in this art. A more detailed description is accordingly deemed unnecessary.

It is to be understood, however, that even though there is herein shown and described a preferred embodiment of the invention the same is susceptible to certain changes "fully comprehended by the spirit of the invention as herein described and the scope of the appended claims.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

l. A rocking toy comprising a frame including forward and rear sections hinged together for horizontal swinging movement, a forward support member hinged on said forward section for longitudinal forward and rear pivotal movement, a rear support member hinged on said rear section for longitudinal forward and rear pivotal movement, spring means connecting said members to said sections and normally retaining said members in a forward position, and means forming a part of said members for engaging the'sections to limit the pivotal movement of said members in both directions.

2. The combination of claim '1 and an upright carried by said forward section, and hand engaging means carried by said'upright.

3. The combination of claim 1 wherein said forward support member and said rear support members include arcuate bearing feet, and a cross bar bracing said forward support member and having end portions projectin from said forward support member and "forming feet rests.

4. The combination of claim 3 wherein said arcuate feet include padding means conforming to the contour of said bearing feet.

5. A rocking toy comprising a seat section, a forward section hinged to said seat section for substantially horizontal swinging movement, forward legs depending from said forward section and including bearing feet, means pivotally securing said forward legs to said forward section for forward and rear swinging movement of said forward legs, spring means forming a connection between said forward legs and said forward section normally urging said forward legs to a forward position, rear legs depending from said seat section and having bearing feet, means pivotally securing said rear legs to said seat section for forward and rear swingingmovement of said rear legs, additional spring means forming a connection between said rear legs and said seat sec- :tion and normally urging said rear legs to a forward position, and means for manually swinging said forward section relative to said seat section, said forward legs and said rear legs having upper flat forward edges for engaging said sections to limit forward swinging movement of said forward and rear legs, said forward and rear legs having upper vertically inclined rear edges for engaging said sections to limit rear swinging movement of said forward and rear legs.

6. The combination of claim 5 wherein .said last mentioned means includes a hand grip carried by said forward section, and .a foot rest carried by said forward legs.

'7. The combination of claim 5 wherein all of said legs incline downwardly and outwardly to restrict overtipping of the toy.

WALTER BOWKER.

REFERENCES CIT-ED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 893,108 Spain July 14, 1908 948,257 Smith -L Feb. -1, 1910 1,414,785 Morris May 2, 1922 1,570,849 Manley Jan. 26, 1926 1,687,693 Pratt Oct. 16, 1928 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 191,209 Great Britain Jan, 11, 1929 

